Will vote for Cong to defeat BJP in 2019 polls, says Kerala CPI(M) chief
Kasargode​: Amid discussions of a CPI(M)-Congress alliance at the national level, Kerala CPI(M) chief Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Thursday said that the party was ready to vote Congress to defeat BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
"The Left Democratic Front (LDF) will contest 100-150 seats in the next Lok Sabha election. In all the remaining seats we will identity the candidate who can defeat BJP and the Left/CPI(M) will vote for such candidates. It could be SP, BSP, regional parties or even if it is Congress, we will vote for Congress to defeat BJP," Balakrishnan was quoted as saying by India Today at a public gathering in Kasargode district.
Earlier in March, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had ruled out the possibility of the CPI(M) aligning with the Congress in the fight against the BJP, saying such an alliance would lack credibility.
"In CPI(M)'s fight against the BJP, the party cannot take Congress into its side. Previous experience show that such an alliance will lack credibility and people will not accept it," Vijayan had said.
Vijayan's statement came a day after CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy described the BJP as the "prime enemy" and stressed the need for a broader platform to take on the saffron party.
The trouncing of the CPI(M) in the Tripura Assembly elections has forced it to rethink strategies and increased the clamour within the party for an "adjustment" with the Congress, ahead of a crucial party meet next month.
Also Read: CPI(M)-Cong to tie up? Call for 'adjustment' grows louder after Tripura loss
The heavy defeat in Tripura has raised several questions within the CPI(M) on adopting the "right strategy" for survival, party leaders said.
Party general secretary Sitaram Yechury had in January proposed an alliance with the Congress which was vehemently opposed by the party's Kerala unit, along with politburo member Prakash Karat, known as a hardliner in the CPI(M).
